Swim!
by Mato-Gin
Summary: Rumors get around about a professor and a student. And Kid just happens to see a certain someone stripping a certain older man by the pool.
1. Rumors

**A/N: No. This is not Free!**

* * *

There are many things about Kid that surprise people once they find out what he's really like. Like for instance, the flaming red is his natural hair color and he doesn't spend tons of money on hair dying products. People usually peg him for a dog person, but he actually likes cats slightly more. Those tiny felines can be such adorable assholes, and still have their owners coming back for more. He doesn't hang out at the arcade all the time (who has the money for that? Not him.), and that he actually studies often and got accepted into a college – a _prestigious _college at that. Contrary to what other people thought about him, he wasn't lazy. He just didn't like to do things that he didn't want to do, and that inconveniently included subjects in school such as English.

_Yes_, he took a normal English class in order to pass with the minimal C-. He didn't take Honors literature like the others who were at the top of the school, mostly because he knew he'd dig his own grave if he had to read Old English poetry and decipher their obscure meanings. The only relevant line of poetry he'd ever bother to remember is Tony Stark's "poetry in the park."

_Doth mother know you weareth her drapes? _

It didn't amount to much, but Kid wasn't the most elegant man.

He didn't take any advanced history classes either. Did his lack of knowledge about Napoleon really affect his life? As far as he was concerned, the answer was no. He just knew that he confused the name of Neapolitan ice cream as Napoleon ice cream when he was five. It was very obvious that he didn't excel in the humanities, but what wasn't obvious to others was that he knew his weaknesses. It was actually _smart _not to take classes you knew you were going to fail, and it was obvious to him at least that he did better in the physical sciences. So instead, he took advanced physics and math. So yes, he was that person who got a full score on the AP Physics C exam. And yes, his name was engraved on Shanks' special door which was reserved for the students who survived his Calculus class with an A. Mind you, there were only fifteen names on that door from the man's entire fifteen years of teaching.

People are often baffled speechless once they learn all of this. First, they feel disbelief. Then after a few seconds, it turns into denial, then it turns into anger at the thought that such a guy like Kid can actually do so well. It was a funny reaction, and really, Kid didn't mind taking a good laugh from their expressions. Most people thought he was just another delinquent expected to drop out of high school, and Kid didn't blame them for thinking that. He often played hooky and opted for discarding his uniform jacket looking like he didn't care, but that was because he exuded heat like a heater in the middle of summer three hundred sixty five days a year. It didn't help that he towered over everyone else with his bulk of muscles looking like he wanted to pick a fight with every person he made eye contact with. In school, it was either people feared him or hated him. No one thought him as a studious person upon first glance.

There were, of course, the excepted few like Killer and the others he often hung with, but grouped together, they looked like the characters to a miniature gang of troublemakers. If the sight of one scary, nearly seven foot tall teen didn't intimidate, then a group of similarly muscular males walking down the hall with scowls and scars on their faces certainly made for the effect.

But it's not like they _tried_ to be intimidating, though it was fun. They just had shit happen to them to make them look the way they do. Heat's scars – came from a car accident and multiple stitches during surgery. Killer's marred skin – he was caught in a burning building and had to spend months in a hospital back in middle school because of a crazed lunatic who was now in prison. As for Kid himself – his broken nose and any scattered markings on his body came from fights. Fights he didn't always want.

The oldest ones came from his father.

He and his mother had to deal with a man that served as an abusive father and husband, and Kid got the broken nose when he was twelve after finally getting the guts to stand up to him. The man had had his mother down on the floor during a heavy argument, and it looked like he was going to rape her so he jumped in and tried to get him off. Looking back, it was the most rewarding decision he ever made.

Kid wasn't going to lie. At the time, he was scared shitless of his father, and what he did – pushing him to the floor to let his mother get away – was one hell of an action that made him think he was going to die. The furious look his father sent him once he got up made him freeze on the spot, and Kid wasn't able to dodge the fist that rammed his face. After beating Kid senseless, the man refused to send him to a hospital to fix any of his broken bones so his nose was never fixed back to its position. It took another year for his mother to finally find a way to leave his father and get a divorce, and that was luckily enough time to transfer Kid into another city before he finally cracked and made the decision to dispose of his father in a less legal way.

No. Kid wasn't a murder. He maybe have had some slight anger problems, but his gentle mother made sure to make him the best person Kid could ever become.

She was the reason why he was here walking through the hall of his new dorm with a luggage trailing behind him, why he was sliding a key to open his room's door, walking in and dropping his things beside the bottom bunk claiming his bed as a newly admitted student of Newgate University. As a graduate student of Harvard Univeristy with a PhD in Physics and quantum mechanics, his mother was a brilliant woman before she married, and she made sure that Kid damn well got himself a good education. It was no wonder he excelled in the sciences during high school and entered in the College of Engineering at the University when he got a his own tutor back home. Though, she was more like an awkward scientist, a strict teacher, and caring mother all at the same time.

With people's prejudice against him and the comments being made against his back – that he got into the University through personal favors, or that he threatened the chancellor's life or something similarly stupid – it was a good thing that Kid didn't care about rumors. Most of them were dumb and impossible, though the one about him beating up fifteen police officers and growing up in the Russian forest for the purpose of being physically trained and adopted into the CIA _wa_s flattering. And Killer tells him that _he _doesn't have common sense sometimes. Seriously.

He couldn't emphasize enough how much he didn't care about people's two-faced comments, but sometimes, the world liked to make him prove his point over and over again just for the hell of it. As soon as a few months passed by after settling into the college life, another set of rumors got passed around. Though it wasn't about him, the rumors still got spread. Like really spread. It was like a virus that got around faster than dengue. *

Whispers of, _"Have you heard of the student that got caught with a professor?" _seemed to be the only thing being spoken and asked.

"_Yeah, I heard the student was from the swim team." _

"_What? I thought they were just an athlete?" _

"_I don't know. That's what I heard."_

"_I also heard they got caught doing it in one of the classrooms."_

"_Wait. I thought that was about someone doing something illegal…. Not about eating face with a teacher."_

"_Well, you've obviously haven't been caught up, my friend."_

"_And it's not 'eating face.' They were actually like full on – like – doing it."_

"_How about the professor?"_

"_Hm… Maybe they were one of the math professors. The building they got caught in was Jacobs Hall." _

"_Ew. All the professors we have are old." _

"_You never know."_

"_And you never know about the professor either. They might not even be a math professor. There's some classes there that are taught in different subjects. I remember having my psychology discussion there." _

"_What the heck?"_

"_Ugh… I don't think they're going to reveal more information about the incident. The school's trying to keep a low profile about it." _

"_Good luck with that. They can't keep people from knowing. Especially with something that big."_

"_And juicy!" _

"_Wait. What happened to the student?"_

"_Heard they got suspended or something."_

"_Yeah. With that kind of scandal going on, I don't think the school would keep them anymore." _

"_Actually, I heard that because they're trying to keep everything a secret, they're letting the student and the teacher stay so no one knows who they are." _

"_Eh? But wouldn't the school faculty know who they are still?" _

"_I don't know. I'm guessing that they're thinking if the students and the rest of the public aren't aware of the identities, then everything's fine."_

Kid walked through campus ignoring the gossip. Really, who the hell cared? It wasn't any of their business, and a relationship with a professor? It was hard for him to picture a young person around their twenties being with someone a little over twice their age, but Kid let the thought run away from him as he hurried to get to class. What he cared about right now was getting to his damn lecture.

* * *

"Welcome to the third month of class, everyone! I hope you guys are all doing well and have been settling in nicely here. I know some students start getting a little homesick by this time; I've been hearing a lot about some students missing home recently, but it'll get better," the professor smiled reassuringly at the front of the room. "Just make sure to call home, and make time for friends along with the work you've been assigned. Speaking of which, you all should have been given an assignment last week, or 'take home quiz' as some of your TA's have deemed it, and there seems to be some questions about it after you all turned it in. A lot of you came to my office hours yesterday so we'll be starting with that for lecture today. Are there any specific questions – Yes?"

The professor turned to a girl who immediately shot up her hand.

"Professor! Do you know anything about the rumor that's been going on lately about the incident that happened in Jacobs Hall?"

The girl, most likely a freshman, turned the whole lecture hall into a murmured silence. The blonde man to whom all the eyes were glued to now with interest shifted his weight uncomfortably. Killer wasn't sure about the others, but he rolled his eyes inwardly watching silently at the whole scene. He couldn't believe that someone actually asked such a stupid question. He wasn't truly surprised though that people thought of asking Professor Donquixote for information about the whole scandal incident with one of the university's students. Out of all the teachers in the school, the math professor was by far one of the youngest. Looking at the face of the man, Killer guessed he was around his late twenties – very close in age with the students here, and also probably the most sought out choice for teenage fantasies about having a forbidden relationship with one of their teachers. As a professor, he was indeed rare for his youth and was the most viable choice for female students to pick and pounce on if they ever got the chance. What, with the man's blonde hair, cerulean eyes, and tall body – he was like a foreign hunk come true for girls with odd fetishes. Many actually tried to flirt with him on a daily basis, but the succession rate was close to zero.

With the nickname of Proff. McHottie, most of the student population were assuming that it was most likely Prof. Donquixote that got involved in the scandal. A lot of the students were actually surprised to see that the blonde showed up for lecture today and wasn't detained from being found in his (supposed) secret relationship.

"I don't think that question is appropriate to ask in this setting," the man set his lips into a thin line. "We're here to talk about multivariable calculus and differential equations, so if you're asking about things that aren't of the topic, it should wait outside of class."

The auditorium kept a respectful silence of agreement, and the lecture continued on without much interruption. Though throughout the whole time, there seemed to be some awkward air straining the air as the blonde man spoke. Students continued taking notes quietly and listening attentively, their silence partly because of some guilt weighing on the students who were actually curious of the professor's answer. It was obvious people felt bad for putting the man on the spot, and the sight of the usually laid-back nature of their teacher turning very stern had people feeling in abashed shame. Although Prof. Donquixote tried not to show it as he attempted to continue class normally, his subdued anger, or at least his distaste for the question he was asked, was apparent through his way of explaining the mathematical concepts very directly. There were very few brave souls who dared raise their hands again to ask questions in fear of saying anything. At the end of lecture, Killer put his notebook away and got up from his seat to follow the sea of students filing out of the room. Before he made it out though, he was able to see his professor leave the auditorium with a slightly upset expression, brows deeply curved. The long haired teen thought about it and considered that he'd be pretty pissed too after that fiasco.

Finally walking through the exit doors, Killer saw a redheaded figure rushing from a distance and he paused to stand near a bench to get out of everyone's way as he waited for the figure to approach him.

"Hey!" Kid came looking flushed. His friend looked around at the small crowd of students leaving the building and cursed. "Dammit! I missed the lecture!"

"What happened?" Killer rose a brow. "I tried calling you, but you didn't answer."

"I overslept," Kid brushed his hand through his hair straightening the messy strands. "And I forgot to put my alarm. Shit." Another small curse slipped from his lips again. Looking dark eyed and with his clothes all disheveled, it certainly looked like the man just woke up and ran all the way over here. The worry creasing his face added to the tired hue on his skin, and the redhead let out a sigh. "Freakin' professor goes so damn fast in his lectures, and he has to have it for an 8 A.M."

"I can give you my notes," Killer said opening his backpack so he could do just that. "He went over the quiz from last Wednesday, and he continued on to a different topic. You can study them until I finish class later and I can go through them with you, but it might be better if you go to office hours to ask about the quiz. I still don't get parts of the explanation, but he said that the last question is going to show up in the midterm."

"One of the TA's have office hours right now?"

"Prof. Donquixote has it right now. And trust me, no one's going to be there right now so you can ask him any questions you want."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kid asked as he muttered a thanks for the notes.

The blonde shrugged. "Someone did something during lecture. Don't worry about it."

"Hmn," he muttered brushing the issue aside.

Having another class to go to, Killer nodded a farewell as he stalked off to one of his discussions. Kid went off heading to his math teacher's office, skimming through the blonde's well written notes as quickly as he could before he made it there to the building. As he read through some of the explanations, he had a realizing moment of what he did wrong, but he agreed with Killer as he reached the solution to the fourth problem on their quiz. It was still damn confusing.

After a few moments of walking and finally making it to the math professor's office, Kid knocked.

There was no answer.

Shrugging, he tried the knob finding it unlocked and just entered the room. Stepping in, he didn't see anyone there except a person sleeping on the lone desk placed near the window.

Wait… He was sure this was his professor's office…. But why was there a different man here? He stared at the stranger and frowned at the lack of a yellow mane on his full head of dark hair.

Kid waited a few moments hoping that the blonde professor would show up soon and shifted his gaze, but a minute or so passed by, and his eyes fell back on the sleeping form of the other person with him. The way their shoulders were slumped against the surface of the table, their head buried deep into their arms, the sleeping stranger looked dead.

"Hey," Kid decided to try anyways and ask if they knew of Donquixote's whereabouts.

"Hey."

There was no response. He walked over shaking the man gently to rouse him.

"Sorry, but do you know where Prof. Donquixote is?"

There was small movement as the man shifted which he took as a good sign to continue.

"I'm looking for him."

Suddenly, the sleeping man's head shot up revealing an annoyed face, and Kid's hand pulled back.

"Can't you see that I'm sleeping?" the man snapped.

The redhead didn't have anything to say as the stranger, with his sleep deprived dark circles, glared at him with the utmost annoyance from disturbing him from his nap. To say that _he _looked like shit from lack of rest... Compared to this guy? Kid looked like he had a twenty four hour beauty nap compared to those dark circles half-mooning the man's eyes. A deeper scowl settled on the stranger's face as the silence stretched without Kid saying anything until he turned away. Rubbing two fingers against his eyes, the man sighed.

"I need some coffee," he muttered.

Studying the man with his black and yellow hoodie, the redhead blinked once, then twice, until he finally remembered that he should be asking about his math professor. Just as his mouth was about to open, the door swung, and he turned his head to see the blonde man walking into the room.

"Oh," his math professor propped the door stand with his foot as he looked at the two men in his office. He was holding two cups of coffee, one in each hand, as he studied them. "Are you here to ask questions?" he asked Kid.

"Uhm, yeah," he answered lamely.

The professor walked over to his desk and casually gave the dark haired man on his desk one of the coffee. The other took it wrapping the warm drink in his hands inhaling the smell of caffeine. It was black – Kid could tell by the bitter strength wafting in the air. The man took a small sip and stood up shortly afterwards. There was a black, shoulder bag underneath the chair he was sitting on which the dark haired man retrieved and slung over his shoulders.

"Thanks, Corazon," the man said as he made his leave through the door.

The professor made no verbal goodbyes as it seemed like this was a daily thing for them, and the man disappeared down the hall. Was the other guy also another professor perhaps? Kid contemplated confused. He looked way too young to be one though, even compared to the blonde he had as a teacher. Maybe a teacher assistant then. But what was he doing sleeping on a professor's desk?

"So, you said you have questions?" the voice of his teacher brought him out of his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh yeah." Kid turned. "Yeah, I actually have a few."

He opened up Killer's notebook and directed to the notes that explained the quiz solutions, but somehow, the man that was previously here still lingered in his mind.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for cutting it short, but I'm tired haha.**

***dengue = Dengue fever also known as breakbone fever, is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. It's the "most rapidly spreading mosquito-borne viral disease" in the world—faster than West Nile virus or malaria**

**Or so the the internet says.**


	2. Coffee

"So when you do this problem…."

Kid explained scribbling on a piece of paper as the three of them sat in a café in the early morning. They had planned to study together yesterday, but something came up and Killer had to go somewhere. So here they were trying to cram everything before their quiz in discussion, and despite the early time, Kid was able to find the words to explain the practice problems pretty easily. He had to give Prof. Donquixote credit for that though as the man was very thorough when he went over them yesterday. In contrast to his speedy lectures, the man was very patient and efficient when you had him alone in a one-on-one.

"So you don't have to do this?" Killer, who was sitting next to him, pointed to the solution he had written in his own paper.

Kid gave a nod, and the blonde went on by himself to finish the problem correctly. Waiting for him to finish writing before they went to the next question, Kid's eyes strayed from the paper and up to the other student who was sitting across from their table. Taking the few minutes, he studied the quiet man with his short, dark hair. Kid couldn't see his eyes as he was looking down and doing his own work, the bill of his cap drooping down to cover most of his face. The man's hand which was holding a pen suddenly stopped moving, and the guy peeked from under the shadow of his cap.

Kid blinked guessing he was staring too hard or something, and the man gave the slightest of smile before he resumed back to work.

"Small, black coffee! Medium macchiato!" A woman at the counter called out another set of finished drinks.

Kid took the moment to stray his eyes away and stand up upon hearing their orders. "I'll get it," he told them.

He pushed back his seat leaving the table and walked over to the counter.

He rubbed the back of his neck, mind still wondering about the friend Killer brought over. It's not that the guy made him uncomfortable, he seemed nice enough, but the look those pale blue eyes sent him was odd – like he was analyzing him and broke him into pieces. It wasn't scrutinizing him… The eyes were just – _picking – _at him, if he could try describing what the feeling was. Knowing it wasn't anything to worry about, Kid tried not to dwell on it. After all, the guy was willing to come to campus early to help them on their assignments. When Kid had come here, he saw that Killer and him were already at the café deeply discussing how to solve problems that even he had troubles with. Killer introduced the stranger as "Penguin," and told him that he actually met the guy around the start of the semester as they had the same seminar, and that the dark haired man was a second year who already took the class they were taking now. The man apparently still remembered a lot of the material and was only helping him out.

And come on. A man who was named _Penguin_ couldn't be all that bad.

"Medium black tea!"

Kid reached over to grab their drinks when his knuckled bumped into another hand. Raising a brow, he looked over to the side to see who had their hand on his order.

"Hm?" he couldn't help the small surprise as he saw the face of who the other hand belonged to.

It was that guy he saw yesterday in office hours except he was wearing a black jacket this time. And like yesterday, the man still had those raccoon bags under his tired eyes. The man stared at him back, slight surprise showing on his expression as well, but it quickly went away.

"Sorry, but I think that one's your order."

His eyes went over to the other side of the counter. The man didn't seem to remember him, and neither did he release his hand from the cup. Kid looked down and noticed a string hanging at the sides of the cup's rim realizing that it was tea, and he directed his gaze to where the dark haired man was motioning only to find the macchiato that he was looking for.

"My bad," he lifted his hand from the tea and gathered the other two drinks. Glancing back at the dark haired man, he noticed the lingering fatigue that seemed to haunt him and Kid let a smile form at his lips. "What? No coffee this time?"

The man turned to him questioningly. "What?"

Yup. The man definitely didn't remember him.

"Just thought you looked like a black coffee kind of guy," he said letting his smile lengthen into a smirk.

The man looked at him curiously, but before he could say anything back, another customer came in between them to reach over and get their drink that was on the counter. Both Kid's and the dark haired man's face scrunched slightly at being pushed so the person could squeeze through, the person even talking loudly.

"Yeah, yeah," the male student said talking to a friend behind him. "That thing isn't a rumor. It's true what they said about a student being caught with a teacher." The guy, blatantly oblivious that he was being rude, grabbed one of the cups and turned around. He somehow managed to step on himself when he tried to walk back and bumped into the dark haired man making the man scowl even deeper.

"Woah, sorry," the guy apologized airily.

Kid didn't miss the annoyed look plastered on the dark haired man.

"Hey," Kid growled. "Watch where you're going."

The male student snapped his head at him as if the redhead was making a big deal of nothing, but with one look at Kid's size, the student shrugged backing off and walked away.

"Whatever," the guy muttered and resumed talking to his friend, the two of them going to their table at the other side of the café. Kid watched them beadily, their conversation still clearly audible in the nearly empty restaurant. "But yeah," the guy eased back to what they were discussing before. "That rumor's true. I bet the student was just a slut that wanted some, and the teacher was just desperate."

The friend broke into a laugh. "That's disgusting!"

"Yeah, I know."

Kid shook his head not wanting to listen to such baseless talk. Turning to the man beside him, he caught the stalking glare the dark haired man kept on the two students as if he wanted to go over and give them a little lesson upside the head.

"How stupid," he huffed quietly enough that Kid couldn't almost hear.

Kid didn't know why the man got so pissed, but he did feel the same.

"Just ignore them," he spoke making the man turn to him, and he rolled his shoulders. "They're not worth listening to."

At that, he could see the man's grey eyes calm, and he smirked to himself. Wanting to continue the conversation but knowing that he had to go back to deliver their drinks, Kid side stepped to start heading back when the man called out.

"Wait,"

He stopped and turned back. "Yeah?"

"Do I know you from somewhere?"

The man's brows wrinkled as if trying to figure out his origin. There was a bit of spark there in his deep grey eyes so different from the dull glaze he had before.

"I don't know," Kid replied. "Your brain might not be functioning right now to figure it out. _Maybe you need some coffee_."

If the man wasn't confused before, he was now. His head tilted slightly not getting the reference.

"Too sleepy to remember?" Kid just couldn't help himself.

The man scoffed losing interest thinking that he was being played with. "It was an innocent question." He looked at Kid like he was the biggest child in the world in addition to being the biggest asshole.

Though Kid sometimes did like being both. Like for instance, right now.

He merely shrugged. "So was mine."

Kid continued walking away leaving the man dumbfounded. A shit eating grin sprouted on his face as he could just feel the irritation bubbling behind him from the other man. Footsteps followed catching up to him, but he went on as he remembered how the dark haired man had snapped at him before.

"Hey!" The man urged for him to turn around.

"Law?"

By this time, they had reached the table with Killer and Penguin, and both stopped when they heard Penguin speak.

_Law? _Kid mulled the name in his head when he noticed that the dark haired man and Penguin were staring at each other.

"Penguin," the man returned with the same unexpected tone. He took a quick glance at the hatted man and Killer at the table, the other student doing the same with him and Kid. Though it only lasted a moment, the two collecting themselves pretty quickly.

"You're here early," Penguin remarked. "I didn't think you came until ten."

"Yes, well, I thought I'd come and get something to drink before class started," the man, whom Kid knew his name now as Law, replied. "And you? I didn't think you came this early either." His eyes glanced at the papers on the table signifying that they'd been here for at least a little while.

"Oh," Penguin let out a small chuckle. "I was just helping some of my friends out on something. This is the guy I was telling you about by the way," he motioned to Killer with a flick of his head. "The one in my seminar. He's taking math with Donquixote right now." *

The blonde gave a curt nod of acknowledgment.

"The funny one?"

"Yeah," Penguin grinned.

Kid followed the expression of Law's rising brow at Killer being funny. From Law's first impression, the long haired man seemed to be someone quiet and calm, and as for Kid – well, he knew Killer. His eyebrows couldn't go higher unless someone seconded that claim of a hilarious Killer. His friend – _his _Killer – being funny? He had no idea how the blue eyed man would justify that. Sure, the blonde could crack a few jokes, but no one would really label him as a "funny" guy. If anything, Killer was one of the most serious people he knew.

"By the way," Penguin continued, "this is my friend, Law," he introduced the cranky man to the two freshmen. At least in the way Kid interacted with him, he was cranky. "We're in the swim team together. We also have most of our classes together, and he took math with Prof. Donquixote with me last quarter. And don't worry, he can also attest to Donquixote's tests being harder than the other teachers. He's a lot better at math than me because he's really smart so coming from him, the claim is worth more, haha."

"But what about you two?" Kid felt the hatted man's eyes stray from Law and to him. "You and Kid were talking. Do you guys already know each other?"

"Us?"

Law's voice sounded like he was offended. He and Kid looked at each other at the same time, and grey orbs gave him a scrutinizing look as the man scoffed once more.

"I'd like to know myself."

It was Penguin's turn to look questioningly, but that only reminded Kid to smile. Ignoring Law like before, he walked around the table to hand Killer his coffee and sat on the seat next to him.

"Like I said, maybe you need some coffee." He looked at Law with mirthful eyes as he took a sip of his macchiato.

The man gazed back, his lips bent into a frown. "If that's your way of flirting with me, it's not working. I really don't know you."

Kid choked on his drink and ripped the cup of coffee from his mouth. "What?!" he wiped some dripping liquid at the corner of his mouth. "Flirting?! I'm not hitting on you!"

"Well it definitely seems like it. If your insistence on getting coffee with me aren't considered as advances on a stranger you've never met before, then I don't know what to call whatever it is that you're doing. And the answer's no."

"Hold on!" Kid shouted setting down his cup so he wouldn't spill it. "First of all, we have met before! It's not my fault if you don't remember. I was just trying to give you hints so you could! And as I recall, you were being pretty rude then like you are now.

"And what the hell?! You'd seriously refuse to get coffee with me when you haven't even given me the chance?!"

Kid flushed angrily, his body leaning against the table with his hands flat on the surface. Hot air heaved from his chest as he waited for what retort the other man would give, and it took him a few seconds to realize that everyone was gawking at him. Law, instead of his angry glare, was giving him a wide-eyed stare. Relaxing his shoulders, Kid calmed slowly noticing the silence in the room, and he shifted around. It wasn't just Law staring at him, Killer and Penguin were giving him blank looks as well…. And also the rest of the café.

Even the two women working the counters were frozen, eyes blatantly locked on him.

_Shit. _Kid just realized what he'd just done. Did he really just scream everything out? And it sounded like a confession too, as odd as his rant was worded.

"I meant that you don't know me," Kid licked his lips dryly at an attempt of saving himself, his voice toning it down.

Yes, he meant that the man didn't even know how he was so he had no right to reject him so immediately. There was nothing implied in what he had said. That was all, and he wanted that clarified to everyone.

There was a strained cough.

"Kid, you're standing."

"What?"

He glanced at Killer and it dawned on him that he _was_ standing.

_Oh great._ Quadruple shit. But wait – when _did_ he get up from his seat? No wonder people were staring.

Kid could just groan where he was.

Fighting embarrassment to show on his pale skin, he awkwardly sat back down, the chair squeaking loudly from the silence. Though he wasn't looking up, he knew that people were still focusing on them, and he wished that people would mind their own business. Why the hell were they looking over here anyway? This was why he hated people's nosiness in what wasn't theirs to worry about. Thick air suffocated the room before Law responded.

"Well," the man actually glanced to the side not looking at him. Kid refused to look at him too so he didn't notice, but he somehow knew Law was doing that. "That _is _one way to make an impression... I'm sure I ... will rememberthis meeting with you the next time we meet. "

The man remained standing there awkwardly, and Kid just wanted to bury his face into his hands but restrained from doing so in fear that it would make the situation even worse. Not wanting to do anything else that would further embarrass him, he just waited for Law to move, but it was so obvious that he was uncomfortable from just being there.

Casting his eyes down, the man looked at his watch.

"It's 9:45," he drawled. "Penguin….?"

At the call of his name, the hatted man blinked and came back to life.

"Are you coming with me to lecture?"

"Hm? Oh – Uh, yeah," the man slowly began to gather himself and looked at his work on the table. "Yeah, I'll go with you."

He started collecting his things and shoved them in his backpack. After he was done, he hopped off his seat and waved a flimsy goodbye to the two younger students.

"I'll see you guys later," he said before following Law out the doors who, if it weren't for the grace of his long legs, looked like he was fleeing.

Kid kept still as Killer returned the gesture, and remained so as he could still see the two men walking away in his peripherals through the glass windows. Penguin kept looking back with worried glances and scurrying to keep up with Law every so often while Law himself strode on calmly without even a single glance back. Kid didn't even dare move a single muscle until he was absolutely sure that the two upperclassmen were completely gone.

Only then did Kid hung his head down into a face palm, stifle a groan, then run his hand through his hair.

Damn, his face must be as red as a cherry tomato right now.

* * *

**A/N:**

*** I call my teachers by their last names dropping the "Professor" or "Mr./Ms./Mrs." title to their name. It may seem disrespectful to some, but that's how I talk about them colloquially. They also seem fine with it as I have openly addressed all of them so. Also, sorry for short updates, but it seems good to cut it here. And oh, some of you may be wondering, about the summary. **

**Where is the Corazon stripping goodness? **

**Well, it'll come later on in the story. Sorry ^^ but please be patient. **

**Oh and thanks very much for MiKaGu and roo17 for the lovely reviews~ I greatly appreciate it. **

**To roo17: Thank you! I wanted to do something different, but I also wanted to keep them the same in a way, if that makes sense? No matter what AUs the Kid pirates are in, I feel that they need to maintain their baddassery. **

**MiKaGu: Lovely MiKaGu~ I call you lovely because I notice that you are an avid One Piece fan. As for the pairings… You will see as the story develops. Haha, I am cruel :C**

**And final note! **

**When Kid says, "So was mine." It was referring to when he asked Law the "innocent" question of trying to find Corazon during office hours. **


End file.
